The Pied Piper: Swarm Of The Rats
by Psychobilly Beach
Summary: My darker, more graphic version of this German folk tale. Chapter 4 is finally up; sorry for the delay! Expect Chapter 5 to be up by June 13th. Please R&R I want plenty of feedback.
1. A Loss Worth Seeking

Chapter One: A Loss Worth Seeking  
  
Our story takes place up in Northern Germany, a quite normal, modern place today. But hundreds of years ago in this undeveloped land there was a large open prairie of flowing grasses. It had always been a perfectly peaceful prairie covered in long fresh grass that was actually getting drier and drier by the season. By the middle of summer time, the prairie was completely yellowed and impoverished.  
  
However, no matter how dry this parched field got, it would always remain inhabited by its only real citizens - Rats. Obviously these rats could hardly survive in such a desolate valley, so their appearance was very thin and scarred from fighting with other rats purely out of boredom. Each rat looked exactly the same, besides their varieties of different old injuries from being involved in so many conflicts. They were all light gray in color, most with short and balding fur. Their ribs clearly poked out of their thin tissues of skin, and many had overgrown teeth from lack of food. Although they rarely ate, that didn't keep them from reproducing.  
  
Many miles away stood a tiny schoolhouse in the middle of an equally tiny village. A class of only eight children lived and attended there. These eight children were brought up without any parents, and were schooled and tended to by the only adult around, Ms. Weigand. The children ranged between ages five and ten, but Ms. Weigand was actually sixteen years old. Two of these children were named Holger and Timo. These two boys were quite opposite from each other in many ways. Holger was very large and bossy, the teacher's pet, and always outdid the competition in any event that took place at the schoolhouse. He had orange hair in a bowl cut, blue eyes, and many freckles.  
  
Timo, however, was very short and scrawny. He was a pushover and never seemed to want to participate in any activities. He was never envious of Holger, however. He always seemed to be off in his own mind and secretly admired the only girl who attended the schoolhouse, Ute. She was nine years old with long, straight blond hair down to her waist with brilliantly blue eyes and an infectious smile.  
  
Timo and Holger were the only ten-year-old children in the schoolhouse, so they were the oldest. Holger always sat in the front of the room close to Ms. Weigand, because he was the teacher's pet. Timo, however, sat in the very back corner of the room, as far away from everybody else as possible. Nobody really liked Timo because of his strange way of dressing. The other school children called him a warlock. Since none of these children had parents anymore, no one was able to tell if Timo had a witch for a mother or not.  
  
Three years later, Ms. Weigand was nineteen years of age, Timo and Holger were thirteen, and the beautiful Ute was twelve. Ms. Weigand, who once had the longest brown and curly hair imaginable, had cut it down to shoulder length. Timo had gotten quite a bit taller, and was now catching up to Holger's average height. Holger's freckles were finally beginning to fade from being in the sun every day possible. Ute's once white-blond hair was now a light brown.  
  
This was also Timo and Holger's age of maturity, and they began to feel real attraction towards Ute and even Ms. Weigand, the only two women they had ever laid eyes upon. Sometimes after school, Holger would take a walk with Ute through the forest, where they both eventually had their first kisses and the athletic Holger began to demand more.  
  
One day, however, Ms. Weigand seduced Holger after school in the schoolhouse, and with that, Holger completely lost interest in the young and undeveloped Ute. She was experiencing her first heartbreak, and she didn't like it. She didn't even completely get over Holger for another six months, even though he was an abusive bully. But a year later, when Ute was thirteen and Holger and Timo were fourteen, Ute began taking a real interest in boys. Surprisingly, she ended up falling for none other than Timo. She admired the way he always dressed in black, and she found his long black hair beautiful. In her opinion, the fact that his appearance was mysterious was very attractive and it made her wonder more and more each day.  
  
Eventually she did find the courage to start talking to him and doing her best to flirt. In time, her long awaited efforts finally paid off, and Timo did respond with his own style of flirting. He wrote her cryptic poetry, which was very different from what Ute was used to from the simple-minded and straightforward Holger, but she appreciated it nonetheless. They began hanging out after school as well, just as she had done with Holger only a year earlier. This, however, felt like a completely new experience to her because they would usually just take long walks along a cobblestone path and talk about how they felt. Nobody would have guessed they were together because they showed no signs of liking each other during school hours. Deep down, Ute was afraid that if she were caught with Timo, she would be punished and made fun of by her peers as well.  
  
After a while, the relationship between Holger and Ms. Weigand became sickeningly obvious and equally unbearable to everyone attending class. It was getting in the way of the usual teaching and learning methods they were so used to; you could always get a sense of bad karma in the room. Ute and Timo agreed they just couldn't stand for it any longer. About a year after they started being secretly together, the two of them decided to skip school, just for a day to get away from the awkward vibes of the schoolhouse. Their intentions were entirely innocent. Together they traveled along their familiar cobblestone path for hours and hours, gradually stretching into a full day. Just as the sun was setting, they reached a pleasant destination.  
  
It was a field, the same dried up prairie mentioned earlier, although the rats weren't out in the open because it was nearing dark and they were buried in holes underground that went unnoticed. This was where Ute and Timo finally shared their first lip-to-lip kiss after a full year of patience, and they both felt a strong sensation within.  
  
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ute's eyes glowed with happiness. She turned sideways and reached into the back pocket of her new black dress, pulling out something very shiny and beautiful. "This is for you, Timo. To show how much I care for you, and as a promise that I'll always be there for you."  
  
She handed it over and Timo observed it, rather confused. He shook it a bit and Ute giggled. "It's an ocarina, silly! You play it like an instrument by blowing into the tube there, and the music comes from the little holes. You can make tunes by covering the holes with your fingers, see?"  
  
Without saying a word, Timo tried it out. Immediately he played a soothing tune. His eyes grew wide with amazement. In a few hours, he had learned an entire song he made up by himself, one dedicated to Ute. By the end of the song, she had fallen asleep on the stale grass, and he did the same. They held each other close that night, although it was a warm one.  
  
When Timo woke up the next morning, the golden ocarina still in the palm of his pale hand, Ute was gone. He sat up and looked around in a quick panic, then stood on his feet and called out to her, but she was nowhere to be found. He spent hours that morning foraging through the tall grass in hopes he'd find her wandering around innocently in search of him as well, but he didn't even catch sight of her.  
  
He took out the golden ocarina and began to play it with his eyes shut, in the desperate hope that the song would summon her. He titled the song "Ute's Tune" in his mind. He could hear faint rustling as he played, but he was too engrossed in the tune to open his eyes just yet. Soon, though, he did open them after the song ended, only to be so shocked he recoiled in fright. There must have been hundreds upon hundreds of ugly rats surrounding him! He gasped as he looked back at them in fear. They were all staring at him awkwardly, as if in hope that he had food on him they could eat.  
  
"What do you want from me?" he daringly spoke to the rats. "I don't have any food. You can't have this ocarina, either! It was given to me by someone who means a lot to me."  
  
His face went white as the rats began to look at each other, as if thinking together, communicating. Their crooked whiskers twitched and their round ears perked up. Timo had never seen so many rats before in his life, rarely even one, and to see them all acting this way simultaneously was something miraculous and unheard of.  
  
"Her name is Ute," Timo continued, feeling slightly less afraid. "She was here in this same spot last night and I need to find her. Can you help me find her? Please help me..."  
  
But the rats offered no help, and hours of frustration and searching alone turned into days. The rats refused to acknowledge Timo unless he was playing his ocarina. These endless days slowly formed into weeks, and after that, months. Timo had lost track of time. He had gotten thinner than the rats and he was covered in nasty scratch marks from the tall grass. Time seemed meaningless to him now, and after a year of eating only grass and rats, Timo finally realized it was probably time he headed back to where he used to live, although he knew no one would miss him and he probably wouldn't find Ute there. Nonetheless, he made his way out of the field and onto the cobblestone street.  
  
Along the way, he played "Ute's Tune" on the ocarina, even though he knew many, many different tunes now. He had become an expert ocarina player, although he hadn't realized it. As he played the ocarina, the rats followed him. By now there were over two million rats, all starved to near death, but they all followed Timo eagerly at the harmonious sound of the ocarina. 


	2. Inhabiting The New Old

Chapter Two: Inhabiting The New Old  
  
In less than a day, they arrived at what Timo could have sworn was once his homeland. But it had changed vastly. He recognized the old school house, but it had been remodeled. In fact, many buildings had been added, as well as streets and sidewalks! Timo stood in disbelief, staring at this strange metropolis. He stopped playing his ocarina at the sight, and pocketed it.  
  
Quickly, Timo turned around to face the rats. "I don't understand what this is," he tried to explain. "There only used to be the schoolhouse, none of these extra buildings and streets. Yet I know this is where I came from, I can feel it. The schoolhouse is over there, near that queer light post."  
  
Once again, the rats awkwardly looked at each other, although now it looked like an endless gray bumpy pasture there were so many. Most of the rats at the back of the patch stood on their hind legs to get a better view, and in seconds, all of their tiny pink noses began sniffing at the hair, their damaged whiskers twitching. They were obviously famished, even more so from the daylong travel. Their feet were sore, their mouths dry, their stomachs empty, and their eyes wide.  
  
Timo continued walking forward, playing the ocarina as quietly as possible so that none of the townspeople could hear it. The rats followed him slowly, until Timo felt his feet step upon something noisy and tin sounding. He looked down to discover an odd manhole of some kind. Just then, he began to hear voices from a few blocks away. They were familiar to him.  
  
As soon as he heard the distant voices, adrenaline hit him like a bullet and he dropped to the ground, hastily opening the manhole. Without bothering to think about what he was doing, he climbed inside, finding himself walking down a slimy metal ladder that brought him into the darkness below. With one hand, he started playing the ocarina once again as he fled and slipped down. The rats ran down obediently, most running completely over him on the way down. He wasn't sure of what he was trying to do or why he was hiding from the unseen people of this town, or even how far down the ladder would take him, but he was willing to take a very random and possibly risky chance; a rush to an unknown destination.  
  
It took a few full minutes, but his feet finally found solid ground. The stone area was as cold as ice. Timo looked up as the last of the rats climbed down the manhole opening, which was glowing brilliantly with sunlight. But he knew the sun would be setting in a matter of short hours.  
  
Down here, he thought long and hard with the rats. He was more famished than he'd ever been in his life, along with the rats. Yet this place was supposedly his homeland, and he didn't want to disturb them by bringing millions of rats swarming across the streets. He decided he'd only take a few rats, and they could bring back food from any stores that may have been set up in the town. He wanted clothes too – The clothes he was wearing were much too small for him now, dirty and torn in any place imaginable.  
  
With this idea, Timo played a special tune on his flute, which he had titled "Selective Course" months before. This tune was meant only to summon around 50 or so rats at a time, and it took him and the rats a lot of practice out in the field to get it right. Upon playing this tune and heading back up the ladder, a few of the millions of rats scurried up there with him, eager to see what this newly sought town had to be discovered.  
  
Once out of the dark sewers and before Timo even took the time to adjust to the blinding light, he dodged over to the nearest large building. Timo could easily identify a strong aroma coming from a large window placed right at the bottom of the wall. The rats looked up at Timo with hungry eyes, as if asking him for permission to sneak through the slightly opened window.  
  
Window already cracked ajar, Timo carefully opened the rest of it up with his bare foot, allowing the rats to get inside. They scurried in like a bumpy fur rug, and he eagerly followed them out of curiosity. He found himself on the dark wooden floor of a seemingly empty room. The rats waited a moment for Timo to pick himself up before they began exploring. There was a long counter in front of them, with the oddest-looking things on top. Over the odd things was a concealed glass shield, clearly made so that nobody could touch these items.  
  
Yet Timo, as well as the rats, craved these materials. Their scent told their instincts that this was food. Over a year without eating real food could drive anybody mad, and Timo willingly gave the rats permission to do what they could to open up the sliding glass doors before them quietly. But with these glass doors, apparently the only appropriate way to get the food concealed behind the glass had keyholes on them. At this point, the rats were much too eager to waste their time looking for the keys, so they gnawed at the locks.  
  
Meanwhile, Timo observed an entryway on the other side of the room. This lead to a front room, where the people were meant to enter. There didn't seem to be a soul in sight, however, so Timo eagerly went back to observing the rat's progress in getting at the food. To his surprise, the rats had somehow punctured a large hole in the glass, perhaps by gnawing at it, and were now on the other side of the glass shield. All at once, they grabbed every sample of food and jumped back out of the hole, continuing to walk to the window on the floor.  
  
They worked like oversized ants, lifting the food up high over their heads as they scurried out the window. The sight looked almost like a mini- parade, the food being the gigantic floats. Quickly they made their way out the open window and into the streets, heading back to the open manhole. Timo thought of closing the window after he got out, but realized that was pointless. Whoever owned this market would know for sure that it had been raided; there was no point in trying to hide that.  
  
The rats made a run for the open manhole, Timo on their tails. He watched as the parade of rats scrambled into the manhole and as the last one jumped in, he began to get in as well. But a voice was calling out, and it distracted him.  
  
"Hey, where do you think you're going!?" the voice cried out as Timo turned around in surprise. It was Michael, one of the children he recalled from the schoolhouse long ago. Timo almost didn't recognize him because he had grown a mustache as well as a lot of unneeded fat. Still, Michael continued to cry out, "Why aren't you indoors? It's going to rain soon! Who are you?"  
  
Without a reply or a second glance, Timo darted back down the sewer, covering it up with the manhole. He slid eagerly down the cold ladder in hopes that Michael wouldn't follow him. After reaching the bottom, his feet now numb from the cold, he ran left as far as he could. He saw that his rats had already finished their food in a matter of seconds and were now swarming the sewers, claiming their own lands. Some rats were in the corners and crevices of what appeared to be this underground tunnel. Others were perched on slimy pipes high above. The rat's eyes glowed a brilliant yellow in the dark, which Timo envied. He almost didn't recognize the rats when they were blocked from sunlight, and this is what triggered him to stop and think for a moment about what he was going to do next.  
  
"Now that we've reached a decent homeland, it's clearly my job to take care of all of you," Timo spoke to his rats. "You need food, and this town clearly has plenty to share, from the condition of Michael's body. This enclosed underground is much more suitable than our last location. At least now we can keep dry in the rain and cool in the heat; we don't have to worry about hail or thunderstorms."  
  
The rats jumped out of their marked areas and gradually made their way closer to Timo, to hear his words. Timo let everything he had experienced within the last hour sink in before he spoke again. "But I know this town will not accept me, let alone any of you. They didn't accept me before and they won't accept me again. Look at me! I barely have clothing anymore; these are too small for me now and so ripped up they don't look like clothes. There's no way I can face this town anyway. I can't let anybody know who I am."  
  
Suddenly, there was a rapping at the manhole entrance. It was Michael, no doubt. "Who's down there?" Michael called. "You can't hide forever down there! How long have you been living down here!?"  
  
"Hide," Timo muttered to the rats, his heart still beating rapidly from being startled by the sudden disturbance. "Maybe I can make my first agreement with him. Just wait until he leaves."  
  
With those words, the rats vanquished, burying themselves into the crevices of the walls and inside the pipes. The vast majority even dove under the sickeningly green water that ran as a small stream down the tunnel of the underground. After they were all clearly out of sight, none making a word and no glittering yellow eye to be seen, Timo stood up. He was now shivering from head to foot, feeling only half-dressed in his tattered clothing. "Come on down."  
  
With that, the manhole could be heard opening and a light beamed down from far off. Timo walked his way towards the light, and made it just as Michael finished climbing down the stairs, feeling completely disgusted. The smell of the sewers was very repulsive compared to the outdoors.  
  
There was a long silence. Timo's extremely tall and skinny body looked down upon Michael's shorter and much wider body. Michael began to sweat in nervousness as he removed the small blue hat he was wearing in respect, clutching his chest with it and looking back up at Timo. "May I ask who you are, Sir? And why have you come to our small town of Hamelin?"  
  
"Hamelin," Timo repeated. "Is that what you call this town? Why Hamelin, of all ridiculous names?"  
  
Surprisingly, Michael didn't scoff or show any sign of hatred or disrespect towards Timo after his rude remark. Instead, he placed his hat back upon his head and replied, "It is the last name of our town's mayor, Sir. This town is brand new; it was just made official last week. The mayor was the designer of this town in the first place. He's a very extraordinary man."  
  
"Extraordinary, you say," Timo responded. Timo noticed his own voice was much darker and deadlier-sounding than the fat Michael's scared and unaware one. "Well then, you must all be proud. Are your lives not grand? Have you all wives and children and jobs? Money?"  
  
Michael let out a dry laugh, but then quickly covered it up with a cough. "Actually, sir, we are much smaller than the town itself. There are but eight of us. Soon to be nine."  
  
On the inside, Timo was more than just surprised, but he didn't let Michael know it. He thought quickly of all who were there when he left the schoolhouse over one year ago. There was Michael, the slightly porky child with brown hair, which had now been cut into a buzz cut. But there was also Holger, Timo's ultimate hatred. There was the teacher, what was her name? Ms. Weigand. Ah, and then the twins with the blue eyes and blonde hair. Their names were Frans and Stefan. Oh, and then there was Johann, the smartest of anyone in the schoolhouse. Last came Dieter, the biggest of all the children. That was seven, and with the mayor, it was eight. But who was this final person?  
  
"List your residents," Timo stated clearly, crossing his arms and hoping he could get this small puzzle solved.  
  
"Well, there's me," Michael spoke obviously. "I own the clothing shop. Then there's Johann; he owns the bookstore. He knows the answer to any question you might have as well, he's very smart. Oh, and then Frans and Stefan own the food shops, they're actually twin brothers. Dieter is the house builder, he built every building above us. He's quite strong. Then, of course, there is our mayor, Holger Hamelin, along with his secretary and wife, Petra Hamelin. Her maiden name is Petra Weigand. Anyway, they have a child named Sophia. Petra is pregnant yet again, and we'll be expecting the next child in about six months."  
  
Timo was in shock. Ms. Weigand and Holger married? Holger, who seemed so dimwitted before, was actually able to manage a town and become the mayor of it? And a child as well, with another on the way? Didn't anyone from Hamelin ever run into Ute, Timo's long lost love?  
  
"Interesting," Timo answered, pretending to sound bored with Michael's talk. Just before he could get another word in, a panicking shriek cried from above, and in less than a second, a starved rat was in Timo's cupped hands. Michael jumped a few feet back, gasping in shock.  
  
"A rat!"  
  
"Calm yourself," Timo grinned. "This is a pet of mine, he travels with me. Now listen, I'm not in the mood for more chatter." Timo realized that with the rat in hand and the look of distress in Michael's eyes, he felt powerful and much more confident in his words. "I am here to stay in this town, at least for a little while. I don't want to be seen or heard from any of Hamelin's citizens besides yourself. Don't offer me a place to stay, this sewer will do. All I ask is for clothing and food. My rat and I are starving and we haven't had any real food to digest in months."  
  
Michael showed his first sign of disapproval by scowling. "Clearly you have no money. You can't expect me to grace your needs for free! The mayor would never approve of your barging into our-"  
  
"Silence," Timo interrupted, again in a dark and calm voice. "With me, I hold a weapon. This weapon will rid of your town's mayor, his wife, and his two children. Then I will become the new mayor, and anyone who opposes me with be struck with this sharp and deadly weapon as well. Do you wish for this to happen?"  
  
Immediately, Michael froze. He shook his head, now shaking with eyes watering. "I'll do as you ask, as long as you promise not to hurt me or any other citizens of Hamelin, Sir," Michael managed to gulp. "Allow me to get you some food right away for you and your rat. But please, may I have your name?"  
  
Timo thought as quickly as he could. "You may call me The Pied Piper." 


	3. Prophesizing A Deal

Chapter Three: Prophesizing A Deal  
  
Timo and Michael made a deal at that moment. Timo informed him that he was only interested in wearing the color black as a symbol of the darkness he felt within his heart and soul. Darkness caused by confusion and loss, yet with a hidden strength within him that begged to be brought out, which was the reason he claimed to come to the town of Hamelin in the first place.  
  
Michael was touched by Timo's strong words, however, he did inform Timo that the color black was strictly forbidden in the town because it represented the mortifying art of witchcraft. Through some more deep words, though, Timo eventually got Michael to admit that he did have a hidden stash of black material hidden in a wooden safe in the back room of his clothing shop. Since he couldn't get any help from anybody else in town without having to explain why he was making black clothes, he would have to work very hard himself, and informed Timo that it could take months just to make one article of clothing. Timo was willing to wait, as he saw no reason in rushing the idea. He had no further plans to continue.  
  
Each day after dark, Timo would play his golden ocarina so the rats could get food from the bakery and bring some back for Timo. The days turned to weeks, and after one month, Michael paid Timo another visit.  
  
"Pied Piper!" Michael called down to him after opening the manhole one midnight. Timo gave him permission to venture further into the sewers, so he did. He approached Timo with caution, as always.  
  
"Pied Piper," Michael repeated, looking up at him with desperate eyes. "Frans and Stefan complained to Mayor Hamelin early this morning. Someone has been stealing food at night, and I know you aren't awake during the day. What puzzles me is, why take so much food? The amount that is being stolen is enough to feed three large cities! The twins are furious."  
  
"How old are you?" Timo randomly asked Michael.  
  
"Eh?" Michael was slightly confused, but he answered nonetheless. "I'm fifteen, Pied Piper. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Only fifteen," Timo grinned in his dark yet cool voice. "Fifteen years doesn't seem a fit enough lifespan, don't you agree? Fifteen is such a foolish age; you know so little. Do I look as though I've gotten any larger since I first came to this town? Yet you accuse me of stealing your precious food."  
  
"There are gnaw marks in their store that have clearly been caused by a rat," Michael stated, looking up to the ceiling of the tunnel as he said this, in hopes the one rat would come falling down.  
  
"Then it appears this town has a rat problem," Timo grinned yet again. "My rat stays down here with me and eats what he finds floating in this green stream you see before you. There is no way in hell my rat could ever wander out of here. He is just as thin as I am."  
  
Michael gave him a stern look of concern, but shrugged it off, realizing that whether he was the one who stole the food or not, it had no person effect on himself. "Anyways, Pied Piper, I have started on making your pants. The material is very comfortable fitting on the inside, but made of hard leather on the outside. A very powerful material it took me forever to conduct. It underwent many prototypes before I got it just right, so I hope you like them once they're done. I've made blueprints and they should be done in a few months."  
  
"I pray you don't make them baggy," Timo called out to Michael as Michael made his way back up the ladder to the manhole. "I'm sure you're used to much wider costumers."  
  
Weeks went on with every day being the same. Timo and his rats slept during the daylight hours, but remained perfectly active during the nighttime. This was when the rats would always steal food from the twin's food shop, never getting caught once. As they were busy feasting, Timo would practice more and more on his ocarina, day dreaming that one day he would find his fair Ute. Many times he thought about leaving Hamelin once again in search of her, but he wouldn't know which way to travel to. Was she even alive anymore?  
  
The weeks formed into months. Michael did slip down into the sewers a third time, with Timo's new pants, which surprisingly fit Timo perfectly. They were the darkest shade of black he had ever seen, with a very shiny leather material that fit tightly and perfectly around his legs. Along the outer sides of his pants were long, sharp silver spikes. Many more spiked bondage was thrown throughout the pants, and he realize the pants themselves could be deadly if put to good use.  
  
Next, he told Michael to make him boots. Michael informed him that doing this could take up to one year because he was no master at making shoes and couldn't get help from anybody else, but once again, Timo understood perfectly. He was still in no hurry to get everything done.  
  
Timo was actually quite thankful for his pants, because they always kept his legs nice and warm. He didn't shiver as much anymore, but he was still tired of his bare feet always being numb and tired of having a tattered piece of worn cloth for a shirt. Over all, however, he didn't have a real problem with his life. He continued writing poetry and playing his ocarina, and his rats continued feasting.  
  
No matter how much the rats feasted, however, they never got fat. "Being fat is like grounding a heel into a beautiful and innocent flower," Timo always told his rats. "It shows greed and lack of care for anybody around you. Anyone can be happy as long as they have a goal or a fantasy. I think we can all do without an extra slice of pie now and then."  
  
The months themselves turned into years. The boots arrived, and sure enough, they were a very hard black material with silver ends and bottoms, and more deadly spikes coming out of the sides. He also received complementary socks as well as another shiny leather shirt to match the pants. He wore long leather arm warmers along with fingerless, knuckle less gloves. He wore a wide band around his waist with thin silver rope tied around to hold everything together.  
  
His final bit of clothing was a cape. All of his clothes were in black. He felt he was almost ready to face the town. But over time, the town had expanded, becoming bigger and bigger, much more populated. Hamelin had come to be one of the most popular cities in all of Germany, with many more children than adults. Michael even mentioned that Mayor Holger Hamelin owned a fat orange cat that loved to chase rats around the city. For as the number of people in Hamelin expanded, so did the amount of Timo's rats, and some strayed away during daylight hours.  
  
Also over time, Timo's hair had grown so long; it went past his boots. Michael delivered him a very nice silver shank, which Timo used to cut his hair to just above shoulder length. But Timo still wasn't ready to face the town just yet. He needed makeup, and lots of it.  
  
"Pied Piper, I've brought you some makeup!" Michael called down the manhole one night. "It's actually costume makeup, but I believe it will do."  
  
"Thank you, Michael," the Pied Piper grinned. "This is all I need, and I will finally be able to face the town of Hamelin. Although I'm not sure why I bother, I feel that I have some business to accomplish in order to reach my goals. What colors are these, anyway?"  
  
"Black and white, as you ordered," Michael answered him with a bow. "I must get back to my wife and children now, Pied Piper. I hope to see you again in a few days. Take care."  
  
With that, Michael left the sewers once again, and Timo put on the face paint. He covered his face in white makeup, but added black to his lips and all around his eyes. He made a line of black going off the outer sides of his eyes. He looked in a small mirror he picked up a few years before, and he realized he looked completely different. There was no way anybody could possibly recognize him anymore.  
  
Timo was now 27 years of age, 6'7", and very thin, pale and bony. He knew he appeared ready to face Hamelin, but he had to rethink everything. What would this accomplish? He goal was to search for his love, Ute. Was she still alive? It had been eleven years since he had last seen her. Could the rats help him find her? Did anyone in Hamelin know where she was? Surely Michael or one of the original children from the schoolhouse remembered her. Perhaps she had passed by the town many times. Or was she dead now? What if she came back to the town of Hamelin and they mistook her for a witch, and burned her?  
  
Thoughts rushed through Timo's head, he felt like his life was spinning so fast. He couldn't believe how many years had gone by. He could still recall Ute's browning hair and blue eyes, her gentle smile and embrace. If she was alive, did she still remember him? Or was she with somebody else? What if she was in the town of Hamelin right now with a family?  
  
Timo soon found his eyes swelling red with tears. He buried his painted face in his white hands, his warm tears seeping through his long, bony fingers. His small cries echoed faintly throughout the underground tunnel. The rat's sensitive round ears perked up, and they slowly gathered around Timo. Some scurried up on his shoulders or in his lap.  
  
"All I can do is sit here and wonder where the fuck she is," wept Timo between gasps of much needed air. "My beautiful Ute. Where are you? Are you within my reach, or are you dead and gone in the clouds above? I promise that I will find you either way, my dear Ute."  
  
The rats were listening carefully, looking up at him desperately, wondering what they could do to help. Timo suddenly began coughing up blood into his lap, the few rats sitting there getting drenched in it. They did not take a step back or even botho cleanse themselves. They just looked up at Timo along with the rest of the rats in hopes he would give them orders on what they should do next.  
  
Finally, Timo calmed down and stood up, rats still clinging to him. Before he could give an order to his rats, one tiny squeak came from the other side of the tunnel. Puzzled, Timo as well as the rest of the rats looked over in the distance. One of the tiniest baby rats was eagerly making his way toward Timo in a mad rush. He stopped in front of Timo, squeaking and pointing behind him.  
  
Timo carefully stepped over the rats and rushed to the ladder leading up to the manhole. He looked down at the bottom of the ladder to find one of his rats sleeping. It wasn't just any rat, though, but the very same rat that had fallen from the pipe above during Michael's first visit about ten years ago. The rat was now about eleven years old, one of the oldest of all of Timo's rats. A closer look at this rat told Timo that the rat had gained too much weight. Clearly, this rat had been overeating while the rest of the rats were only getting the smallest amount possible to keep it even.  
  
Scoffing, Timo lifted his obese rat by the tail, waking him up. Immediately, the rat whined and twitched his feet as if to run away in thin air. The rat's tail between Timo's thumb and index finger, Timo grinned and turned around to show all the other rats, who were looking right at Timo in confusion and wonder. "This, my friends, is what I like to call a disobedient, disgraceful, degrading rat. He has abused his privilege to eat and will be severely punished before the rest of you, so that you too may learn from the mistake of another."  
  
Slowly and painfully, Timo raised the fat rat above his head, all the other rats never blinking or taking their eyes off the event. Mouth open wide, he descended the rat into his own mouth, closing his lips around the rat's fat and wiggling tail. As the rat screeched and cried out, Timo chewed on the rat's flesh, ripping holes into the rat's body and letting the rat's blood trickle down his throat. After about a minute of chewing, the rat having gone silent after the first few seconds, Timo spat the remains on the floor upon the rest of the rats. All that came out was the tail, bones, and half of the rat's face. A few other rats dodged at the remains of the once disgustingly fat rat, nibbling off what was left from the warm bones.  
  
"Tomorrow," he announced loudly after the dead corpse of the rat was completely vanished. "I will explore this town of Hamelin and see just how popular and food-filled it is. And the following night, you will all have your revenge!" As the rats squeaked in happiness, he continued. "I have lost my dear Ute because of them, and now they try to take what we rightfully deserve? We'll show them all, my friends, we'll show them just how bad the weaker really are!"  
  
If one were to be near the manhole at that moment, one would have clearly heard The Pied Piper's insane laughter. But nobody was awake at three in the morning in the town of Hamelin. 


	4. Exploring The Exposed

[Author's Notes: I actually do Author's Notes, I just never had a real reason to up until now. To answer your question, Karli, Timo is not insane, although I suppose anyone who hasn't been in his situation would assume he acts sort of mad. I only used the word insane to describe his laughter, but I see where you could have been thrown off.]  
  
Chapter Four: Exploring The Exposed  
  
No citizen of Hamelin had been awaiting for the sun to set besides Timo, who was asleep down in the sewers. Timo was lost in his own thoughts as he slept peacefully, his bony body resting against the stone wall of the sewer, rats hidden within the green waters, crevices of the walls, and high above on pipes that went without acknowledgement. No one would know, but Timo was twitching in his sleep, his thoughts overwhelming him to no end.  
  
He was dreaming about none other than Ute. What did she look like now, if she was still alive, years older than he had last seen her? He imagined his next encounter with her, alone together. She was wearing the same black dress she had worn the last time he had seen her. She appeared more beautiful than he had ever seen her in his whole life, and she was approaching him tantalizingly. As she glided across the room to him, she gave him a kiss, but this was a much different kiss than he'd ever received. Their mouths opened, their tongues danced, their eyes shut softly. He felt her warm hand run softly from his cheek down his smooth neck and down his bare chest, further down his stomach and beyond...  
  
"Ute...Wha...Ugh...Agh!" Timo jolted up, awaking quickly with wide eyes. He hastily cleaned up before the rats could get up; then got dressed. A light no longer glowed from the manhole's spot, telling him it was nighttime in the city of Hamelin. With a grin on his face, he walked eagerly to the slimy ladder. The rats peeped out of their holes and other places to watch him; he didn't need to make an announcement as to what he was going to do.  
  
Before Timo even put his hands on the cold ladder in front of him, he took out some gel from his pocket given to him weeks ago by Michael. He ran in through his hair in a way so that it looked almost as if static electricity was causing it to stick out.  
  
[Author's Notes: Try to picture Timo's hair looking like Robert Smith's hair, the lead singer of The Cure.]  
  
Not letting another moment pass him by, Timo climbed eagerly up the tall, freezing ladder. His flesh touched the handles like tender children's hands on ice cubes, but he didn't stop for a split-second or have any doubts of climbing to the top. After about two minutes, the manhole was just inches above his head. He lifted it up off the street and slid it over to the side, and climbed out to the world around him.  
  
The first thing he noticed as he entered the main part of the town was that it was surprisingly much warmer than the sewers, and a lot easier to breathe. The air was fresher and you could look up at the bright white stars above. He felt the soothing wind run through his messy hair, and he took in a deep breath. Although he did feel slightly uncomfortable on the inside because of his new surroundings, he physically felt extremely refreshed and relaxed. It made him wonder why he waited so long to leave the sewer, and he no longer questioned why the town was now so populated with people who traveled from all different places of Germany to stay here.  
  
Although it was past midnight, there was plenty of light visible within the city, which came from the light posts, stars, and moon. Timo once used to admire the beauty of the moon and its stars, but now he saw them as inept lights in the sky that didn't represent anything spiritual. The moon and stars were the only thing he seemed to have left to admire for the year he spent searching for Ute at the field, and they had seemed to encourage him to search on for her, but they had failed him. His trust and faith in the dark sky's lights had faded to nothing.  
  
With clenched fists, Timo continued walking, making his way to the nearest sidewalk so that he could observe the buildings built aside it. He noticed the buildings built along the sidewalk weren't houses, but more or less stores. Truly, he was fascinated at how developed the town of Hamelin had become over the years, compared to what it looked like when it was just a tiny village with a population of nine. But on the outside, Timo showed no signs of amazement, only signs of hatred. Hatred for the night sky's lights, hatred for the people of Hamelin, hatred for whatever took Ute away from him, hatred for fate and hope itself.  
  
Turning a corner, he finally found a store he could recognize. It was one of the largest buildings he had come across, and it was labeled "Library of Hamelin". A sign on the main window was marked "Owned and Processed by Town Librarian, Johann". He recalled what Michael and said about Johann when Timo first entered the new town of Hamelin. He told Timo that Johann was very smart and could answer any question. Hell, Michael made it sound like Johann was some sort of helpful guide, and maybe he was, but only to the town of Hamelin itself.  
  
"If only they had seen him from my point of view," Timo muttered softly aloud in his dark voice, speaking about Johann. As his fingertips pressed lightly against the letters imprinted on the window, Timo thought back to a time when he was young and attending the schoolhouse with Johann.  
  
Sure, Johann was very smart, and never seen without his large nose buried in an old thick book with large vocabulary. He was always the first to answer Ms. Weigand's questions, his hand raising eagerly, as though if not answered, his life would crumble like ashes. Even though it was already known that Johann was the smartest in the entire class, he had to always be testing and challenging everyone else's learning abilities, just to make himself feel better. He also had a crush on Ute, although he was about two years younger than her. He always tried to flirt with her by listing off some boring facts from a random book, but Ute would come off as uninterested in every time.  
  
Timo recalled a specific day that made his hatred for Johann become must stronger. He and Ute hadn't even begun to go out when it happened, but they had been flirting for weeks. Before actual class time, when the students were in the room but Ms. Weigand wasn't, Johann was sitting in the front row reading what appeared to be an old musty dictionary. Everything seemed pretty ordinary in all cases. Timo was having a light conversation with Ute near the front of the classroom by the door, when suddenly, Johann shut the book loudly and caught a few people's attention.  
  
Some students looked at the clock, thinking Johann closed his book because class was about to start, but they still had about 20 minutes. That's when the small 12-year-old Johann made his way toward Ute, even though she was in mid-conversation with Timo. Johann pretended not to notice Timo as he glided right between him and Ute. Ute stopped talking and looked confusingly at Johann.  
  
"Eh, can I help you?" Ute asked politely. She was wearing a baby pink frill dress and her hair was in wide light brown curls."  
  
"You know," Johann announced loudly, straightening his glasses. "I've been studying from a few versions of multiple encyclopedias, and you do realize that your friend Timo here is a warlock, right?"  
  
The whole room went silent. Everyone was expecting Ute to ask for further information or at least get a shocked or embarrassed look on her face, but instead she crossed her arms and gave Johann a dirty look, something never expected to come from the dear Ute. "That was rude of you, Johann. How would you like it if I said you resembled a know-it-all, stuck-up, stubborn little boy who hasn't even gained a spurt of growth yet?"  
  
Johann's eyes were wide with shock, and everyone else in the room was speechless. Timo gave Ute a shocked look as well, but he was thankful and surprised she was actually standing up for him. Still, he hadn't expected her to get up in Johann's face about it. Some people in the back of the room snickered at Ute's shocking yet hilariously rude comment about Johann.  
  
"It's true, though, Ute," Johann continued, trying his best to ignore what was just said about himself. "He dresses in black and remains anti-social to the rest of us. Just look at how pale his skin is, even though he's been outside just as often as we have! And the distinct darkness of his hair and eyes. It's clearly not human. You know warlocks are much more rare than witches, right? They're said to be much more powerful than witches; he's dangerous!"  
  
At this point, all the other students gathered around closely to where Johann, Ute, and Timo were standing to listen in and get some more information. Ute, however, was even more appalled than she had appeared to be when she first spoke back to Johann; now she was furious.  
  
"Are you trying to tell us that Timo isn't a human being?" Ute screeched, causing a few people to back up a few steps in shock. No one had ever seen her so angry before. "Just because he doesn't dress exactly like the rest of us and his physical characteristics are unique, you think that he should be treated like a whole different species? Or are you just using this as a pathetic excuse to convince me to stop talking to him? Look at me when I'm talking to you! If one of us in this schoolhouse is queer, surely it must be you and not Timo, Johann."  
  
Johann looked as though he was about to fill up with tears. "Ute, this isn't an excuse, I'm only concerned about you! I'm not trying to make fun of Timo or anything; I'm just saying that he resembles that of a warlock! For all we know, he couldselep a wand up his sleeve. If you make warlocks angry, they'll easily cast a spell on you before you can blink an eye."  
  
A few people laughed at Johann's comment, and at this point, Timo had snuck out of the room. When Ute turned around, indignant with fury and anger, she realized Timo had run out the door and went out to chase him down. No way was she about to let Johann's inept theories emotionally scar Timo.  
  
Johann forcefully grabbed Ute's hand before she could run out the door, a tear gliding down his long cheek. "Ute, don't chase after him, don't you see? That's what he wants; he's a warlock! He's going to let you chase him as far away from here as possible so he can cast a spell on you-"  
  
"Fuck off already, Johann!" Ute barely had to struggle in order to get Johann to let go; no one in the schoolhouse ever used such language before. Everyone in class was hollering and in shock from Ute's response as she flew out the door. Holger was laughing the hardest; he couldn't believe the Ute he thought he once knew and become so different from the rest of them.  
  
"If I didn't know any better," Holger announced, his voice louder than the rest. "I'd say Timo's already put a spell on her. I mean, look at the way she's acting! Profane language, an attitude problem, and dear god, she's standing up for him! Someone tell me this isn't happening. Ute's usually so sweet, isn't she?"  
  
"You're right!" Johann immediately agreed. "There's no better way to explain her sudden change of personality. We have to follow her and make sure she doesn't get hurt! Everyone, grab your matches. We've got a warlock to burn!"  
  
As everyone else in the schoolhouse made a mad rush to grab any utensils they could use to start a fire, Ute was chasing after Timo, trailing fairly far behind on a dirt path. The weather was very cold, dark and windy. She called out to him, "Timo, come back! I don't care what Johann says, I don't think you're a warlock; you're just different! Please, stop running, I can't run in these shoes much longer!"  
  
[Another's Notes: As you picture Ute chasing after Timo, also imagine "Gets Me Through" by Ozzy Osbourne playing in the background. The song is the first track on Ozzy's "Down To Earth" album from 2001.]  
  
Ute couldn't see it happening, but Timo had collapsed to the ground, his black clothes immediately getting covered in spreading dirt. He forcefully grabbed a very old and partially rusted shank out of his pocket, holding it up near his face. It appeared almost as if he was about to begin cutting himself up, but Ute ran up just in the nick of time, her feet aching from all the painful strides.  
  
"Timo, don't!" Ute screamed. But before she could reach him, Timo grabbed his waist-length hair all in a fist and took the sharp end of his shank to it. It was now cut so that no strands of hair were waving. He dropped his now dead hair and ran his hands forcefully through it, giving it a very messy and spiky appearance.  
  
[Author's Notes: Yes, this is Timo's first time getting the Robert Smith- style hair.]  
  
"Timo..." Ute cried, rushing swiftly to his side and wrapping her arms around his front from behind him. "Why did you just cut off all your hair? It's so messy now; I really liked it the way it was before."  
  
"Ute," Timo turned around to face her with his shorter hair. "There's no use in me holding back anything. I'm sick of having long hair like yours. Besides, if Johann did his research right, he'd know that a warlock can't cut his hair by himself. It supposedly just magically comes back to its full length in seconds. Do you see my hair growing back? May be this will be enough proof already."  
  
"Oh, Timo," Ute sighed, her eyes watering up with tears. She held me tightly and kissed him on the cheek. "You shouldn't listen to them, no matter what they say. If they don't care about you, why should you care about them? If they're going to be immature and make fun of you like that, I don't care about them anymore either. I just care about you, Timo."  
  
"What do you mean you just care about me?" Timo 5MRmd, confused as he held Ute back.  
  
"I'm envious of you, Timo," Ute smiled up at him. "I want to be like you. I love the way you have such deep opinions on everything, even if they're different from everybody else. Sometimes I just wish I could be you and live your life. I want you to take me in and show me what it's like to be you. I know this sounds weird, Timo, but I get a feeling out of you that's stronger than how I felt for Holger so many months ago. I think it's love I'm feeling, Timo."  
  
Timo was shocked, but he hugged Ute tightly back without saying a word.  
  
Now, about 12 years later, Timo stood outside Johann's library. He felt his new shank in one pocket and the golden ocarina given to him by Ute in his other pocket. 


End file.
